Woman's Best Friend
by LongLostTwinOfIsabellaSwan
Summary: Everyone deserves love. No matter their flaws, no matter their problems or their crimes. Love is what lets us call ourselves human. Even if we aren't. [EXTENDED New Moon. Major OC. Jacobfocused.]
1. Woman's Best Friend

Woman's Best Friend

_Love makes gods of men and saints of sinners..._

She could almost smell it in the air—at least, she thought she could. More than likely it was just her intellectual mind tampering with her physical senses. As a mere human there was no way her sense of smell was sophisticated or powerful enough to pick up the unique scents long since faded from her surroundings. She tried to smell impossible smells, smells that shouldn't exist, that couldn't—but did.

No matter how wild her imagination ran, there was no denying the tangible electricity in the very air of La Push, Forks, and even Washington state. Just by knowing the truth, knowing the secrets, one could feel them.

Madelyn Swan sat on the rocks before the sandbar in front of the sea at First Beach and tried to escape the urge to weep. She cries a lot, she can't help it, and not only when she is sad. Not hardly. Lyn cries when she is happy, when other people are sad, when other people are angry. If she ever became powerful and sensitive enough, no doubt she would never stop crying—especially not in her sleep—because there is always someone, somewhere in the world suffering.

The tears began pouring down her cheeks regardless, silent and sneaky. Lyn hugged her knees to her chest, which made it hard to breath, but easier to keep herself under control. She didn't sob, her eyes didn't redden. Instead she smiled as she looked out for eternity.

After what felt like a year, Lyn stretched her limbs outward, hearing her bones crack and creak and groan. She moaned and yawned it all away. Everything was still sore, her bad back curving even as she moved to stand up, but it was more than worth it. Maybe now going into town wouldn't bring on a nervous breakdown.

Lyn stumbled forward after a few moments, narrowly missing the large rocks and hitting the sandy beach hard. She steadied herself with some difficulty, breathing hard when she was through, waves crashing and heart pounding.

The dark sea churned and her vision swirled. It was getting dark—darker than she had realized.

In the oncoming shadow of the night Lyn failed to notice that she was not alone. That is, not until her body began to tense and tingle, warning her of a silent approach she was late in processing, that she should not have been able to sense.

_Werewolf_, she decided passively and with confidence.

Lyn turned around, purposeful and slow and calm, and the figure behind her froze in his shock. He was beautiful in the rough and heated way of wolf-men. Especially the russet-skinned Quileute wolf-men. His skin was smooth and dark; warm. His eyes were black and deep; wise. His hair was short and black; ragged. He was dressed only in cut-off blue jeans, which made Lyn shiver in the cold, but of course he didn't even notice the sea or the night. He was tall and muscular and in a constant state of physical, noticeable strain—although his was not as bad as the usual, for one so young. Dangerous in a means-well-but-lacks-control sort of way. Which didn't make him any less deadly or the threatening; the thought is hardly ever all that counts. Good intentions kill just as often as harmful ones.

"Hello," she greeted in a pleasant, casual, unworried voice. Her voice was deep, husky, melodic—but not overdone, still soft and sweet: feminine. The common greeting seemed grossly out of place in the obviously abnormal setting. "My name is Lyn Starling."

The wolf-man seemed to be able to sense that she was lying; he didn't comment on it, however. "I'm Jacob Black. It's nice to meet you."

He didn't offer to shake hands, and Lyn didn't seem to notice the purposeful distance that she honored completely.

Her smile was sweet and sincere. "Do you live here? On the reservation?"

Jacob did not appear to relax; he was tense. They both knew this was not casual, they both knew that this could not be treated normally, and yet the guise was there. The facade. Why?

"Yes, I do. You know about La Push?" He sounded surprised. Something about the way Lyn spoke tipped him off. She was not your average tourist.

Lyn shrugged modestly, but her eyes hid unfathomable secrets and knowledge. "A bit. I've been here before, in my youth." She smiled a very pleasant, charming smile. The resemblance was striking in that moment, and Jacob suppressed a gasp—his suspicious were correct.

He nodded politely. "Why are you here so late? It's awfully cold for a visitor to hang around here, without a purpose." Jacob stepped forward instinctively, and immediately Lyn could feel the waves of heat radiating off his body. She shivered in pleasure; she hadn't noticed how cold she was until that moment.

Lyn cleared her throat and tried to sound normal, and not as if her head was spinning out of control—which it was. "I lost track of time. You're right, I should be heading back—" She turned to go leave, but somehow tripped on the moist sand and was sent sprawling forwards.

On impulse, Jacob lurched forward with inhuman speed to catch her before she fell—an action they both regretted immediately. On accident the smell of her hair permeated every facet of his senses, and his physical presence overwhelmed her. A moment that felt like eternity dragged on.

Jacob groaned, and Lyn gasped. Quickly he helped her up and then put several feet of distance between them. She smelled of mangoes and coconuts and pomegranates—tropical fruits so far away. He smelled of heat and strength and savagery—everything dangerous and tempting in the world.

After a few deep, salty breaths they were both calmed down enough to look back to one another, although they were both awkward in their gazes. They didn't make eye-contact for long.

"May I walk you to your car?" Jacob asked.

"It's a truck, actually," Lyn replied.

The silence was far too pleasant, and no further words were spoken.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Jacob Black went back home in a somewhat dazed state that his father did not fail to notice.

Instead of trying to get through to him, which Billy immediately knew would be impossible, he instead called Sam Uley. Sam said that he could sense it now that he was paying attention, and if Billy wanted he could go over and speak with Jacob. Billy thought about it, decided it wasn't serious, and that it could wait until the next day—so that Emily wouldn't get annoyed, and to allow it a chance to go away on its own.

It didn't.

Jake could hardly sleep that night, which in and of itself was odd, since werewolves need all the rest they can get. At breakfast he wouldn't eat, once again, very odd, for they need as much energy as they can get as well. Billy decided that it was getting serious when Jacob wandered back into his room, still out of it, to lay back down, eyes never closing. Billy called Sam, who came right over.

Sam didn't even go into Jacob's room. He knew as soon as he had arrived that human methods of communication would be useless to attempt. Instead he spoke with Billy in the kitchen, trying to figure out the details of the situation.

"I don't know much," Billy admitted. "Jacob left last night at around mid-afternoon, to survey the area. He didn't find anything, but didn't come back until after sunset. Sometimes he likes to walk First Beach or go for a swim." He smiled, as did Sam, knowing perfectly well Jacob's motivations in such cold weather.

Sam pondered Billy's words for a long moment. "I'll go check out First Beach. To see if I can find some sort of clue. Perhaps you could call...?" He trailed off.

Billy frowned. "Do you think that this might be serious?" Disbelief and worry colored his tone.

Sam paused at the front door. "Not dangerous, if that's what you are asking. The rest of us would have sensed a true threat. But something has changed, that much is obvious in how Jacob is behaving, and it never hurts to check out all possibilities." He smiled a carefree smile. "Don't worry about it, Billy. Jake is a teenager, afterall, and part-wolf. That can't be good for his hormones."

They shared a laugh, but it was short and heavy. Sam left, and Billy was left to brood, wondering if something was wrong with his son, and if it was indeed more serious than Sam led him to believe.

* * *

Lyn didn't have any sort of problem living in Forks, Washington. Everyone was exceedingly nice to her. She had just moved there with her aunt and uncle, who travel a lot, and run separate businesses that rendered them busy most of the time. The small town was a good environment with her, small and safe, cozy even. She was a very warm person. The first day that she was out and about she got a job working at the local bank, and the next day she was all registered and ready to start as a Senior at Forks High School. 

Everyone already knew about her as she drove into the parking lot. She was early, but not terribly so, and about the time she emerged from the front office, ready to start, people had already begun to arrive. Soon a small flock of her peers surrounded her. Jessica had already met her, thanks to her mom, a fact she didn't neglect to brag on. But Mike had his first class with her. Lyn felt as if she was a piece of bread being fought over by angry geese, though the sensation didn't bother her. She had been fought over by worse.

The day went smoothly, and she didn't catch even a single glimpse of Forks's main attraction until lunchtime. And then there they were.

In fact, the Cullens noticed her before she noticed them. She was speaking animatedly with Jessica as they emerged from the lunch-line when Edward looked up and physically saw her for the first time. He frowned, his nostrils flaring, something that Alice did not fail to notice.

"What is it?" she asked under her breath, but at a human pace, so that Bella could hear. Actually, Bella was the entire reason she was speaking out loud in the first place.

Edward frowned. "It's the new student."

Alice looked back swiftly, almost too quick to be noticed. Lyn was being escorted to the other half of their table. "So? She's 'just another human', as you always put it."

Edward rolled his eyes. "She's different, I mean. Like Bella. Not...boring." He struggled to explain it without offending the human girl sitting next to him.

Bella looked up and spotted Lyn. She was ivory-skinned, very much like her, but with more red in her long, thick hair, and more wave; her eyes were also brown, but leaning towards hazel, tinted in green; she wore black jeans and a long-sleeved blouse in a pleasant teal. Lyn didn't appear shy to her, but something about her eyes betrayed the fact that she wasn't much interested in the peers that surrounded her, that she was just being polite—naturally more sociable and comfortable than Bella, but just as removed from the world around her, and just as obligated to pretend.

"We should invite her to sit with us," she said innocently, which shocked both of her companions, who gaped at her openly. She frowned, flushing slightly. "What?"

"That would be a rather odd request to voice to her, don't you think?" Edward hissed, somewhat amused.

Alice giggled. "He's right. You might scare her away."

Bella shook her head and stood up. "No. I won't." She sounded confident. As she began to approach the new student, her vampire family began to realize that she was serious. Where had all this bravery come from? Finally she was showing some signs of change; after everything she had been through, it only made sense that she would be a bit less self-conscious around mere _humans_.

Lyn looked up when the rest of the table fell silent. Bella stood over her, smiling kindly. She saw in Bella what Bella has seen in her earlier; a kindred spirit. Her smile brightened and warmed, much more sincere than before, proving Bella's hypotheses true.

"Would you mind if I stole Lyn for the rest of the lunch hour?" she asked the others politely, smiling a sweet smile. From the other end of the table Edward's eyes widened. Then his smirk returned. Once again, _And you accuse me of dazzling people_.

Jessica stuttered, an expression of shock that the entire table shared, unused to having Bella acknowledge her on cloudy days, and Mike was the first to answer. "S-Sure," he allowed, trying to get on Lyn's good graces where he had long before failed with Bella. "If Lyn wants to, and all."

Lyn smiled warmly at him, and he fairly melted in his seat. "Thanks, you guys." She stood slowly, graceful in her care, and took her tray with her. In silence she followed Bella back to where she sat before.

Bella took her seat beside Edward and Alice scooted over to make room. The two human girls sat diagonal from one another, and for some reason Lyn didn't consider it odd that Edward and Alice had no trays of food set before them.

"We haven't met yet. I'm Lyn Starling," Lyn introduced, holding out her hand to shake Bella's.

"Hello, Lyn. I'm Bella Swan," Bella reciprocated, taking the proffered hand and grasping it familiarly.

Something flashed in Lyn's eyes, and Edward read her thoughts. _So this is Isabella Swan. Why am I not surprised?_ He thought that the words were odd, but the intent and feeling behind them was not malicious, and so he figured she had just heard about her before—but why wasn't she surprised, exactly? Had Mike gushed on about her, or one of the other boys? Or was it something else?

"You were a newcomer last year around this time, correct?" Lyn inquired, taking a bite of her apple after she asked her question.

Bella nodded, taking a sip of her lemonade to wash down her pizza. "You heard about me, then?" she laughed.

Edward nodded minutely, to himself. _She senses that Bella is as out-of-place here as she is. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain._

Lyn laughed as well, and nodded. "Forks doesn't get much fresh blood," she observed.

"You're even fresher than I was," Bella pointed out. "My father, at least, lives her, and has lived here, and I used to. You are a completely new arrival."

"Like the Cullens?" she inquired softly. She looked to Edward and Alice, but not in an awkward or pointed way, just politely as she had just made mention of them.

Edward hid a smirk and Alice narrowed her eyes at him. _Don't start, Edward!_

"But oh the irony," he breathed, unnoticed by the human element.

Alice kicked him under the table and turned her gaze back to Bella and Lyn.

Lyn seemed very comfortable, not only to be near the Cullens, but also to—basically—act as if they did not exist. Not in a rude or negligent way, of course, but in a way that they obviously preferred when it came to outsiders.

"Yes, like the Cullens," Bella laughed, less adept at hiding her amusement. She drowned it in another bite of pizza, and though Edward's eyes widened for a moment at the possibility of her choking on it, Lyn didn't notice the difference.

From there, Bella and Lyn's conversation trailed off to more human things, although their discussions were ones Edward could easily appreciate. They spoke of books, and music, and the ocean—things that adult women spoke of, not teenage girls. On the other end of the table girls giggled over boys and celebrities and magazines. These two were of a different world, Edward observed, and there was something about Lyn that struck him as odd beyond that—not in an unfamiliar way.

After lunch Bella walked with Lyn to her next class. It turned out that they had it together. Edward was ignored but not forgotten, Bella's hand resting gently in his as he followed along idly.

After school Bella and Lyn ran into one another again, in the parking lot, _before_ getting into their respective vehicles. It was then that they realized, by some twist of ironic fate, that they had parked next to one another, and that both of their cars were trucks—Chevies. Only Lyn's was black and newer, paint glossy and frame lighter. It could go over fifty miles-per-hour.

They laughed over the situation and before Lyn could climb into her car Bella stopped her. "Wait, Lyn," she called, trotting up to the driver's side door. Edward caught her before she stumbled, and she blushed.

Lyn smiled understandingly. "Yeah, Bella?"

"I was wondering," she began, catching her breath, "if you'd like to go to the movies in Port Angeles sometime?"

The expression on Lyn's face confused Edward; it conflicted with her words and her feelings and intentions. Her brow furrowed; she thought, _But I wanted to go find puppy-boy first—no, that's not a good idea!_; she said, "I would love to!"; and she meant that she really wanted to spend more time with Bella.

Edward's head spun. Now he understood what boys meant when they said teenage girls were confusing. He had just never found _human_ teenage girls so complex before these two.

Bella smiled happily. "Great. When are you free?"

Lyn laughed softly, as if the idea of such a question was silly. "I have all the time in the world." _As if I have a curfew. Or a life._

Bella nodded. "Good. How about tonight?"

Lyn smiled at the thought. "Sounds good." _I really shouldn't go after him, anyway._ "I'll meet you at your house, if you give me instructions."

Bella frowned. "Well, I figured that you don't know your way around like I do, so I thought I would drive..."

Lyn nodded innocently. "You will. I can park my truck at your house until we get back."

Bella's frown deepened in her confusion; she finally felt the missing puzzle-piece that Edward had been aware of since lunch. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me to pick you up?"

Lyn shrugged as she hopped into her Chevy. "I'll meet you at your place, okay, Bella?" she asked, and suddenly her deep brown eyes were guarded, warning. _It's not safe here, for you, for anyone; not even before dark._

Bella nodded mutely. "Okay. See you then."

Edward didn't speak until Bella was belted in and Lyn already on the highway. "I don't understand what's going on here," he whispered, and _that_ sent shivers up Bella's spine.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sam Uley scoured First Beach well into the afternoon.

He couldn't find anything of any consequence. Even with his hyperactive sense of smell, all he could detect were scents that were _supposed_ to be there. The smell of his brothers, of Jacob, of the salt and the sea. Nothing jumped out at him; everything was perfectly normal. No matter how many times he trotted up and down the length of the white sand crescent, nothing ever changed.

Sam contemplated calling upon some of the other werewolves to help him, but quickly abandoned that idea. They were too rowdy to be of much help to the melancholic Jacob, and involving more people wouldn't help the situation any. Besides, if Sam couldn't smell anything, why would any of them?

Then an idea hit him, as he sat on the rocks overlooking the ocean. If all that lingered were ordinary scents, why not follow something that was _supposed_ to be there? That was expected? What if it was a _person_ that had somehow effected Jacob—not a vampire, but a human being? That would explain the lack of danger, in any case.

With that new plan in mind, Sam leapt back up and began to sort through the plethora of odors that permeated First Beach. Finally he found the strongest one; it was from the night before. He began to follow that one away from First Beach and back to the highway.

* * *

Lyn had always had an excellent sense of direction—she had to, moving around as much as she did. So she was easily able to find Forks High School from her new home, and vice versa when the time came.

The forest was a confusing place, but her "sixth sense"—the same sense that awarded her her intuition, and her supernatural "feelings"—led her well, and by following what she _thought_ she slowly learned the exact route home.

Home. Not exactly an apt name for her most current living quarters, but better than most any other interpretation. The house was buried in the woods, dark, even less bright under the cloudless sky for its black exterior and the large trees that surrounded and shadowed it. The shutters were old, creaking ominously in the light wind, the windows tinted and lacking even in reflections of the nonexistent light. Lyn rolled her eyes as she parked her car near the front porch. It was so cliche, and it was all she could do to _not_ make fun of it. Her "family" didn't like it when she did that.

As soon as she had stepped out of her Chevy, boots squishing in the swamp-like front lawn, the front door banged open and out flowed Farrah, her supposed "aunt".

Farrah was one of the most beautiful people Lyn had ever met, of course, and also one of the least pleasant. She didn't win the prize for being the most unpleasant, because she didn't want Lyn dead, and she didn't want to be the one to kill and/or eat Lyn herself, but that didn't change the fact that Lyn didn't like her in the slightest. The feeling was mutual, or, rather, mutually non-mutual, for it was more of a _lack_ of feeling between them.

The vampiress flowed to the bottom step of the front porch, still standing beneath the overhang where she couldn't get wet or muddy. She moved with grace, but there was a stiffness to that grace, a coldness and a harshness that sent shivers up Lyn's spine. Her eyes were burgundy, a beautiful color, menacing under the circumstances. Her skin was white, even paler than that of some vampires, and she was tall, too, making her perfection even more astounding. She wore a long, gothic black dress, as always, that almost hurt to look at in comparison with her white skin and red eyes and went flawlessly with her long, straight, pitch-black hair.

Lyn knew that she wasn't going to be scolded for being late, or early, though she was neither. "What is it?" she asked, keeping all emotion, especially insolence, out of her tone—something it took her years to practice and perfect so that it now comes naturally, without thinking, under any circumstance.

"You were at First Beach yesterday," Farrah snipped coldly. Her voice was tinged in a thick French accent, making her come off as even stuffier and more snobbishly proper than she would be otherwise. "Damian smelled the salt in your room when you left this morning. Explain yourself."

Lyn sighed at the order, but didn't protest. "It's no big deal. I was just—"

"I'll be the one to judge what is and what isn't 'a big deal'," Farrah cut her off. "Now tell me the truth or you'll be thrown out for the night."

The threat wasn't nearly as horrendous now that she had her own car, but Lyn remembered all too well what a vampire could do to her beloved Chevy, so she didn't argue. "I wanted to visit the ocean," she answered simply.

Farrah growled, knowing a half-truth when she saw one. "I don't consider partial truths to be any more acceptable than lies, and you know it. Tell me _why_ you wanted to go _there_, and _what_ you did." The unspoken undercurrent was clear: _And _who_ you saw._

Lyn ground her teeth and took in a deep breath. She paused just long enough for the front door to bang open yet again.

This time a male emerged. He was broad-shouldered, muscled and cruel-looking. His hair was short and red in color, to match his scarlet eyes and golden skin. He sneered when he spotted Lyn. "She's back already?" he snorted, not bothering to hide his distaste. He was even closer to holding the first place award for "Who hates Lyn the most in the whole wide world?" and the fact that even he wasn't at the top of the list was something to worry about.

Farrah laughed charmingly and kissed the newcomer on the cheek, her affection plain. "Dearest Damian," she breathed happily. Then she turned her chin up to Lyn. "Go inside and make yourself useful." The conversation was over.

Lyn didn't hesitate. She bowed her head and rushed inside, careful to not get at all close to the male vampire. Inside was dark, which annoyed her, but she couldn't do anything about it. The house was void of light, not because the electricity wasn't being paid for, but because the vampires had removed all the downstairs lightbulbs just to mess with her, and so she almost broke her head several times as she stumbled to the stairs and then up them.

Once on the second floor she turned on the dim light of the hallway and found her way to her room easily enough. Once inside she closed the door, more for herself than for protection against vampires.

She hadn't brought her bookbag up to her room—there was no need to—and so she threw herself down onto her bed without another thought and buried her face into her pillow.

Farrah and Damian's surprise had not been misplaced; it was very unusual of her to return as such an early hour of her own free will. Today, however, she feared that if she didn't exile herself until it was time to occupy her attention with Bella Swan then she would go looking for the werewolf, Jacob Black, and that could only end badly.

_Would it be such a bad thing, to allow him into your life? Afterall, if you got to know him, not only would you actually have a friend, but you would have protection. Hell—he could probably even dispatch your captors._

The thought was tempting, and Lyn had trouble beating it down with cold, hard logic; fantasy oftentimes ran away with your senses, no matter how supernatural your life is: _Protection against what? I have never been physically harmed in my life. If I was, I'd be dead. And what if he's the only one? It's more likely that he'd be killed, as opposed to the possibility of him saving me, and I wouldn't be able to live with that._

She rolled over with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling above. It was going to be a long three hours.

* * *

After Bella had done her homework, cleaned the house, and put the lasagna in the oven to bake, she curled up in Edward's lap and they just laid there, on her bed, together, for a long and blissful moment. Bella's breathing had evened considerably and she was moving so softly, her body so relaxed, that Edward wasn't entirely sure if she was still awake.

"Bella?" he asked gently, the word a velvet caress.

As if she could resist that voice, or stay asleep as he spoke her name. She would rise from the dead for that melodious sound, she was sure. "Yes, Edward?" she responded. Regardless, she sounded out of it, as if she was suppressing a yawn.

He smiled warmly and rocked her gently, enclosed in the iron cage of his arms. "Did anything about Lyn strike you as...odd?"

Bella opened her eyes all the way then to look up at her boyfriend. His eyes were distant, peculiar, and she frowned, trying to decipher his mood. "Um...no, not really. Well, maybe a little, I guess, since she didn't want me to pick her up; but beyond that..."

Edward nodded, his smile small and distracted. "Well I did."

Bella chuckled and rolled her eyes up at her personal Greek god. "Well of course _you_ did. You are the mind-reader, afterall." She laughed again.

Edward couldn't help but smile. "Yes, I am. But for how odd she was—and how little I learned from her thoughts—it wouldn't have surprised me to find out that I couldn't read _her_ mind, either."

Bella's merriment turned to a light frown and she sat up some in Edward's lap. "What do you mean?"

Edward sighed and quickly thought of the best way to explain. "Her mind was full of...foreshadowing. And careful avoidance. What she thought wasn't normal, exactly, rather normal enough. I _could_ pass these words off as nothing, but when strung together it is obvious that she is not all that she seems. It was as if she didn't think the obvious directly, like she knew I was there, or was afraid of some sort of impossible intrusion."

Bella frowned, not sure if Edward was making any sense. "Um...okay..." She trailed off.

Edward sighed, capturing her hands gently in his; they were so much smaller and warmer in comparison.

"Can you do me a favor?" he asked softly after a pregnant pause.

Bella frowned; his tone worried her, but not as much as the open-ended question warned her. Still, no matter how many times she has been taught not to agree to Edward's requests unconditionally, she couldn't stop herself from blurting out, "Of course." She grimaced at her own words.

Edward chuckled. "Tonight, when you go with Lyn to the movies, would you find out about her home-life and family?"

Bella breathed a sigh of relief even as her brow furrowed. "Sure. Why?"

Edward ignored her question. "Could you also figure out if she's made any other new friends since she moved here? And other details about her time so far in Forks?"

Bella took longer to respond to him this time, her frown deepening in her confusion. "Okay...why?" she agreed and inquired, again.

Edward ignored her for a moment, until he felt that she wasn't going to stop staring at him, waiting patiently for once rather than getting angry immediately. He sighed. "Isn't it enough that I'm curious about her?"

Bella adamantly shook her head. "No. I want to know why you are so interested in this other girl."

Edward made a face, but it didn't look like she was jealous, only painfully curious. He sighed. "I don't understand what's happening here any more than you do, Bella, but I have a feeling...please, if something comes of this I'll tell you, alright?"

Reluctantly Bella gave into that. Her intuition was flaring up too, although not _that_ strongly—she just knew that there was something special about Lyn. "Alright," she agreed, snuggling up to Edward with a sigh.

After a few moments Edward drawled out, amused, "Is something burning?"

Bella gasped, leapt up, and nearly tripped down the stairs and broke her leg in her haste to reach the kitchen. "The lasagna!"

* * *

Lyn didn't know when she had fallen asleep, and she couldn't tell what time it was by the amount of life coming in through her windows since there was _never_ any light coming in. The sky wasn't pitch-black yet, which she took as a good sign—she wasn't too late yet. Her watch told her that she would only be a few minutes late if she left for Bella's house immediately, which was fine with her. She was never one for being on time much, anyways.

She stood up somewhat shakily, stretching and yawning, swaying as she got to her feet and tried to reorient herself. Only as she was starting to step forward and grab her keys did she realize that something was wrong. Too late, she tried to move back to her bed; already she was falling forward, arms flailing in a futile attempt to save herself.

Lyn hit the floor with a dull thump. She gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and groaned, knowing that she had bruised a few ribs and would be sore for a week. Deep, impish laughter rose up from behind her, and she tried to spin around and look menacing, but only succeeded in amusing her tormentor further.

"That was hilarious!" Gregory roared, beside himself on Lyn's bed.

She flipped herself over, still sneering, and untied the knot that connected her boots together, the source of her newfounded clumsiness. "Dammit, you!" she hissed, re-lacing her shoes, still glaring up at the third vampire of her household.

In many ways Gregory was the kindest and most human of the bunch. That, in and of itself, was an unsettling thought. He was the prankster, almost lighthearted, but still far from pleasant, as was evident in his scarlet-colored eyes. He didn't hate Lyn—in fact, he found her amusing—but if she was to die he would feel nothing beyond regret for the loss of a plaything and the same fear and displeasure they would all feel, for the repercussions that would affect them all, the only reason that Lyn was still alive.

Gregory—real name: Gregoire—wasn't overly tall, nor was he at all short. He was of a more average build, but with the same hardness about him that all vampires possess. Moderately young in body, he hadn't lost a lot of the playful buoyancy of humanity. His hair was brown and untidy, his clothes baggy and torn. His specialty came in illusions, which helped with his tricking of others, though it was not by any means a strong or impressive talent; mostly he was just annoying with it.

"Were you referring to me?" he inquired innocently, laying back on Lyn's bed and watching her, eyes still alight and cruelly amused. He would have been a decent guy—if he saw her as something more than a cow—a food source, not an equal. "You know Sister doesn't like it when you address us so..._insolently_," he singsonged.

Lyn ground her teeth together, fiddling with her boots longer than necessary, trying to calm herself down. Slowly she stood up and carefully retrieved her keys. "She cares less about how I speak to you than any of the others," she snapped.

Gregory laughed loudly at that, infinitely amused. "She always was the frigid bitch of the family," he agreed, nonchalant and unaffected.

Farrah was the oldest daughter of Henri Dupont and his wife, Henrietta Malancroix. Gregoire and his twin Remy had been the oldest sons. Both families "died out" in a horrible massacre circa 1486. In truth, these three had survived, their parents and younger siblings, along with the rest of the family, murdered and drunk from by a band of secretive vampires—which had been led by Damian himself. He kept Farrah for his own, and her oldest brothers had been the last ones left. None of the vampires were hungry by that point, so two of the girls—Zoey and Svetlana—had changed them for the fun of it. None of the bodies were ever found, and it was the greatest mystery present in 15th century France.

Lyn shook her head, heading for the door. Gregory intercepted her in a flash, making it impossible for her to then move forward.

She sighed and growled. "Let me pass," she hissed.

Gregory silently refused by not budging. "Where are you going?"

"None of your damn business!" she snapped, trying to duck under his arm.

She was nowhere near fast enough, of course; he grabbed her and held her tight, being careful not to hurt her. Lyn struggled fruitlessly. "Tell me!"

Lyn half-screamed. Suddenly Gregory's identical twin stood before her, his eyes wide and black. She fell silent and still, body going rigid. She didn't even have time to scream.

Suddenly two high-pitched, nerve-grating witch-cackles rose up from behind him. Zoey and Svetlana were sitting on her bed, sharing in their perfect merriment. Lyn fumed, lowering her gaze, her cheeks flushed with anger and exertion.

Zoey, the German princess of the 13th century, and Svetlana, the Russian goddess of the 1400's, watched Lyn, amused, as Remy slowly taunted her, waiting for her to lose it and scream her anger out—and perhaps even cry.

A loud, roaring growl silenced all laughter, eliciting yelps from the room's occupants. Gregory dropped Lyn and swiftly moved away from the door, as did Remy, Zoey and Svetlana flinching away. Lyn crawled to the side just in time for the door to bang open, splintering slightly as a livid Damian walked in.

"Shut the fuck up!" he roared, pissed off.

A moment later Farrah followed him inside. "Gregoire, Remy!" she hissed. They hung their heads. "Zoey, Svetlana!" They looked away. Farrah turned to Lyn, plainly disgusted. The human avoided eye-contact. "Lyn." Her voice was cold, indifferent. Detecting the faint dismissal, Lyn scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room so fast she almost fell down the stairs, her legs too weak to function properly. She didn't care. She got out to her car just as the screaming started, and she knew it would be best _not_ to return to the mansion until the next day, if then.

It was a good thing she kept her valuables in her truck, as well as her favorite clothes.

She drove away to the sound of destruction, fury, and fear hungering for revenge.

* * *

Lyn arrived at Bella's house even later than she had thought she would. On the way to the Swan residence she had to tidy herself up a bit, to look presentable and _not_ birth any difficult suspicions. It was bad enough that she was known by the one person she shouldn't be known by—well, _one_ of the people, anyway—but allowing someone as knowledgeable and _connected_ as Isabella Swan to see her so affected by a world that shouldn't exist...Well, it just wouldn't have been smart.

Bella was standing on her front porch, looking worried and suspicious, despite Lyn's precautions. She winced as she parked her car; half in anticipation of movement, half at her gaze.

Bella was halfway down the driveway when Lyn stepped out of her truck. She was met with a frown. Lyn allowed herself a sheepish expression as she went to meet up with her newest Forks friend.

It was a bit of a radical change, even she had to admit. But a necessary one. One that Bella would get used to, eventually, if they stayed friends—which Lyn hoped they would, since that would mean they were compatible _and_ that she would stay in one place for an extended period of time.

Now Lyn was wearing stretchy black yoga pants that flared out over her sleeker, squared-off boots. Her shirt had butterfly wings for sleeves, but none of the skin of her arms was bared in any case thanks to her elbow-length opera gloves. Her throat was mostly obscured by the presence of a black choker with a ruby red heart pendant surrounded by grayish-black spikes. Her hair was loose and belling out over her shoulders and framing her face well, eyes hidden behind black sunglasses. On either wrist she wore a bracelet; one was composed of black pearls, the other flat onyx. Although it wasn't easy to tell, she also wore red lipstick, foundation, mascara, and blush.

"Hey...Lyn," Bella greeted hesitantly as they stopped half a foot from one another, right behind Charlie's police cruiser.

Lyn's smile was dashing. "Hey, Bella. Ready to go?"

Her attitude was so energetic, so happy, as was reflected in her eager smile, that Bella couldn't help but smile back and feel more interested in the trip than she ever had about any other non-Edward related trip before. "Of course. I've _been_ ready," she reminded Lyn.

Lyn flinched and Bella laughed. "Hey, sorry about that—"

Bella cut her off, placing a hand lightly on Lyn's arm. Lyn flinched and grimaced, which went unnoticed—by the human, but not Edward, who was watching from his perch amongst the distant trees. "It's no problem. We can catch an evening show. Let's go."

Lyn climbed into the Chevy's passenger side as the engine roared to life. Bella laughed as Lyn jumped. "This old monster is loud, but indestructible."

Lyn laughed too. "I bet! It's made of solid iron; it'll outlive the cockroaches."

Bella nodded in agreement. "As long as I don't try to go over fifty."

Lyn laughed at that. "I bet the gas mileage _sucks_."

Bella smiled as they drove away; this girl definitely had her sense of humor.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Yes! we have a hit, Sam Uley thought triumphantly as he followed a human's scent to the highway.

Once apart from First Beach he could better distinguish the plethora of smells that reached his nose—Jacob's, for example. Down by the ocean the werewolf's was just one of a thousand, but further away the scents were scarcer, the fresh ones more easily distinguishable from the old, and it became obvious that he had been with a human the day before.

At this point Sam had already reached the highway, and so he sat down by the side of the road to think.

He wasn't sure of what to do next. It was hard to decide on a course of action when he didn't even know what was going on presently, much less attempt to predict future events.

Jacob was...depressed. That much was obvious. But he wasn't "depressed" in the unhappy, dark sense of the word—as he had been when Bella first left. Not even close. Rather, he was...thoughtfully depressed. Lost in his own mind, wandering, _thinking_. Lacking in exuberance. Waiting, perhaps. Or..._mourning_.

Sam tried to put himself in Jacob's shoes, to no avail. As wolves and pack-mates they were closer than brothers, but Sam already had his one true love, and he had never _suffered_ for his happiness—not in this way, not because it was being denied him. That's what all of this was about, even if it wasn't obvious to the other person involved yet, or even to Jacob. Jacob couldn't have Bella, he couldn't even be her friend anymore, and in that way he was isolated from the rest of them—from the rest of all of them, for no matter their suffering, they had never suffered like this. Isolated from Sam for Sam has Emily, and from the others because they had not reached that level of "maturity" yet, so to speak. Not to mention the humans who don't deal with the same things they do, the older men who have more wisdom and maturity under their belts, and the women living in an entirely separate universe from the rest.

The entire dilemma was giving Sam a headache just thinking about it, and despite his desire to keep the others out of the mess he could sense them approaching and he knew his hopes were futile. Paul reached him first, followed closely by Embry and Jared and then Quil, their newest addition.

"Hey, Sam," Paul greeted him. On the surface everything seemed fine and normal, but they all felt tense, knowing that something was bothering their pack-leader—not that they needed an excuse to be "tense". "What's up?"

Sam turned to his pack-mates and smiled slightly, still worried. "Nothing, really. Just thinking. How's Jacob?"

Embry spoke up. "Something is definitely wrong with him. Quil and I have never seen him act like this—not even when Bella left."

The wolves shifted uncomfortably; _her_ name was a taboo, something never to be said aloud where Jacob could possibly overhear. Quil was even more uncomfortable than the others because he still wasn't used to them being connected so closely—Embry and him hadn't exactly visited Jacob and "seen" what Embry said they had. Nevertheless, he was the one to open his mouth in question after that was let out. "What happened?" he asked softly.

Sam shook his head slowly from side-to-side. "I don't know," he answered truthfully.

"Was it Bella?" Paul asked, a half-sneer on his lips. "Or the bloodsuckers?"

"No," Sam immediately vetoed those trains of thoughts. "I don't know much. All I know is that last night he met a human girl on the beach and when he came home he didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't talk."

"What does this mean?" Jared asked, the first to voice the deep confusion they were all feeling.

Sam stood up slowly. "This means we need to go into town, find this girl, and figure some things out."

* * *

As Bella drove Lyn and herself to Port Angeles—an hour-and-a-half long drive, thanks to her dinosaur of a truck—she discovered even more about Lyn and how compatible they were. She never knew it was this possible for her to identify with another person that was actually human _and_ her age. And even while those things helped, it went far beyond that, because she could never hold half of the connection she had with Lyn with Jessica, or even Angela, back in town. Rather, the fact that they were both too mature for their ages, and too out of place in their surroundings (though with over a year of practice Bella was much better at pretending to blend), made them see eye-to-eye in a way Bella couldn't even achieve with Edward...or, way back when, Jacob.

Thanks to her thoughts trailing off painfully—oh, how things had reversed—she missed the next thing that Lyn said.

"Wh-What?" Bella inquired, dazed.

Lyn looked at her oddly. "I just said that it's cold in here, how do you roll up these windows?"

Bella turned on the heat and helped her with the open windows, and she shivered, finally realizing how chilly it was inside of the truck. Lyn laughed at her.

Though Lyn didn't share her warm upbringing, she was just as fond of the sun as Bella, perhaps even more so. She had grown up always on the move, all over North American, where every warm and sunny day was a precious commodity to be loved and treasured. She wanted nothing more than to break away from her family and move to someplace warm, like Hawaii.

That reminded Bella of her own _old_ college dream, and then her promise to Edward. "What's your family like?" she asked.

Though the question wasn't really out of place, Lyn frowned, shot Bella an odd look, and fell suddenly quiet. After a long moment, before Bella could act of her confusion at Lyn's reaction, she answered the question with another question, "What do you want to know?"

Bella shivered; Lyn's voice was uncharacteristically soft as she spoke, her brow furrowed. Bella couldn't help but feel a sharp twinge of intuition—in encouragement, perhaps, or warning. She ignored it—for Edward—though she did not seek out Lyn's gaze, in cowardice it seemed. "Oh, you know," Bella tried to play it off, her nonchalance too shaky and her voice too desperately high to be convincing. "The basics. Names, who you live with..."

Lyn chuckled and immediately Bella relaxed, though the clouded darkness remained. "I live with my aunt, uncle, male cousins, and their supposed wives."

Bella's brow furrowed. "Supposed?" she questions.

"Unofficial, to put it kindly."

"Ah."

Looking more uncomfortable than before, Lyn continued, "My aunt's name is Farrah, my uncle is Damian, my cousins are Gregory and Remy, and their whores are Zoey and Svetlana." It felt good for her to speak freely, at least.

_First for Edward: Odd reaction when asked about current family—is there something wrong beneath the surface?_

Bella blushed and quickly moved onward. "What happened to your parents?" she blurted out without thinking. Instantly she regretted it.

Lyn didn't seem to care about the change any. "They're still alive. Divorced. My mother remarried but my father hasn't changed since she left." Her brow knit together. "I don't know them well; only what I've heard."

Bella looked horrified. "Your parents are alive and they don't want you?"

Lyn shook her head fiercely with the same recklessness that a toddler might portray. The action made _Bella_ feel a bit dizzy. "They have another daughter."

Bella had to agree with Edward then. Lyn's words were normal enough, and could be passed off as nothing, but they were disjointed, full of foreshadowing and secrecy and things that shouldn't be there, but were. "I don't understand," she said in a whisper.

Lyn was twisting her hands nervously, avoiding Bella's gaze and even looking out the windows instead of confronting her optically. "I'd rather not talk about my parents. They aren't a part of my life at all."

_Second for Edward: Didn't want to talk about real parents—situation too odd to make realistic with more detail?_

Bella frowned. "I'm sorry."

Lyn shrugged it off. "It's no big deal. What about you, Miss Bella? What's up with your life?"

Bella laughed. "What part of my life do you want to know about?"

Lyn made a face. "Let's start with your _boyfriend_," she teased.

That made Bella blush for some odd reason; Lyn laughed. "What about him?"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "You don't seem like the type to date. What's so special about him?"

Bella tried to play it cool, but her efforts didn't work very well. "He's just another teenage boy." A wonderful, amazing, unique, godly, vampiric, hundred-year-old teenage boy. She nearly choked on the failed lie.

Lyn laughed again. "That's not even a little bit convincing, Bella." Even if Lyn didn't know about vampires and how to identify them, his good looks and obvious hold on the entire school would give the truth away. Duh. "He didn't talk much at lunch."

Bella shrugged, carefully keeping her eyes on the road. "There's nothing to tell."

Lyn made a face, and an odd dose of recognition hit Bella. "Yeah right. You two are so in love it hurts to look at you."

Bella's initial reaction was to blush...but then a frown dominated her features. "What do you mean?"

Lyn rolled her eyes. "You two are in love. It's obvi—"

"No," Bella interrupted. "What did you mean by the second part?"

Lyn started to speak, but then paled and looked away. "It's nothing," she mumbled.

Bella stuck her chin out stubbornly, but seemed to let it go.

_Third for Edward:_ _It hurts to look at love—how deprived do you have to be?—or how lost in want and fantasy?_

"On a lighter note, how do you like it here in Forks?"

Lyn relaxed. "I like it just fine. The school is boring and the people are what I had come to expect, but it could be worse. If I want to get any real photography done I'll have to invest in regular trips to Seattle—but, I suppose, since everything else is so easy, that will give me something to do, if nothing else."

"You're into photography?"

Lyn nodded, brightening at the thought. "Definitely. Oh, you should _see_ some of the pictures I've taken! I'm more fond of my simple collage pieces—you know, when you take a base image, not necessarily one of your own, and putting text on or around it to convey a meaning; conceptual art—but the simple landscapes! And the portraits!" She sighed happily, half-hiccuping as she forced back a small squeak of joy at the thought.

Bella smiled. "I'd like to see some of them sometime," she said kindly, truly meaning it. Lyn seemed so _excited_ about the mere thought of her work.

But Bella's words had the opposite affect from what she had thought they would. Lyn's face fell and she slumped down in her seat, turning away even as a glimmer of tears became evident in her eyes.

Bella was shocked. "Lyn, I'm so—"

Lyn interrupted her hoarsely. "It's not your fault."

Bella bit her lip, but after a bit of a long silence she had to ask, "What happened to them?"

Lyn's mouth twisted, but she stared straight ahead and spoke clearly. "They were destroyed during our last move. There was...an accident. A fire." The set of her lip became just as stubborn as Bella's had been.

_Fourth for Edward: Fire destroyed all evidence of her passion—what's really going on there?_

Port Angeles came into sight about then, and all conversation ceased. There wasn't much more to say, really. Bella didn't need to slow as she reached the early evening traffic—if anything it would have helped her to speed up—and soon they had found a parking space and were exiting the old Chevy. Lyn had started telling Bella a story about her male suitors from two moves ago.

"They were all absolutely _fighting_ over who would get to take me to Prom. It hadn't been likely that I would stay as long as I had, so they were all over-excited, obviously. Then, all of their suits muddy and their faces red, cut, and bruising, I stepped out of the house. Everything froze—it was like some bad movie. I stepped out into the porch light...and they all experienced the shock of their lives. I was a full-blown gothic vampire _queen_!"

Bella was laughing with Lyn, though the word "vampire" made her laugh a bit harder, more ironically. "That's amazingly cruel," she commented incredulously.

Lyn made a face and Bella couldn't help but laugh. They had unconsciously hooked their arms together as they headed for the movie theater. "Yeah, well, it was my job to be stunning. I always live in the most _boring_ small towns."

"Why is that?" Bella asked, turned to face Lyn as she led the way. "Since your aunt and uncle are businesspeople and all."

Lyn bit her lip. Of course, the real reason was that they needed to remain secluded. But as far as their cover story went it didn't make much sense. Lyn already didn't like lying to Bella; this bothered her more than it should. "Oh, well, my aunt hates big cities, and it doesn't really matter where we live. As long as we are somewhat close to big cities, or at least an airport." She stumbled through the lie, blushing lightly.

Courteously, Bella let it slide, although she figured she would report _that_ to Edward as well; he could make something of anything.

_Fifth for Edward:_ _Lied about why she always lives in small towns—and badly. Wasn't expecting it—but why?_

"How are you liking Forks so far?" Bella asked as they entered the cinema and hopped into line for two tickets to see _The Brothers Grimm_. Lyn had a thing for Heath Ledger and Matt Damon, and although Bella wasn't much attracted to other men, and had a terrible bias in a very non-human direction, she had to admit they were among the more good-looking men in Hollywood. This concession bothered her. Since when did she ever think thoughts like _that_—no matter how mild? _Lyn's affecting me already?—or is the proper word "tainting"?_

Lyn shrugged as she dragged Bella into another line for popcorn, soda, and candy—all over-priced, of course. "It's okay, I guess. Nothing much different from anyplace else I've ever been." She turned to Bella and smiled broadly. "Although, of course, I've never met someone as _interesting_ as you before here and now."

Bella laughed. The sentiment sounded awfully familiar. "I'm not that great," she said laughingly, although after "the incident" she had a better, more positive view of herself. "What about the other natives?" she nudged.

Lyn flushed, which surprised both Bella and herself. Bella prodded her about it, but Lyn insisted it was nothing. Which it obviously wasn't.

"Tell me!" Bella hissed as they made their way to the appropriate theater. She couldn't help but giggle, as if high on something. What was with her today?

Lyn elbowed her in the ribs, causing her to let out a _whoosh_ of air. They sat down as the lights dimmed, and Lyn hissed for her to be quiet. Childishly, Bella gave in, not before promising—with a stick-out of her tongue—that she wouldn't let it go.

They watched the movie in relative silence. It amused them, although more often than not Bella caught Lyn sighing or squeaking at the main characters. Something was off about her, though, as far as Bella could tell; she couldn't be sure, of course, because she didn't know Lyn personally, but she did seem less..._enthusiastic_ than her personality dictated she perhaps would. One more reason to keep pressing the matter after the movie, as if Bella needed further incentive.

_Five-and-a-half for Edward: Lyn seemed less enthused than she should have during the movie..._

They both cried out in outrage at the kicked kitty-spinning fan bit of the movie, and if it hadn't been for an interest in the plot and constant reminders that it wasn't real they would have stormed out of the theater, monetary investment or no.

At the end of the movie they left the theater many pounds heavier, or so it felt, all the popcorn and _three_ boxes of candy having mysteriously disappeared during their viewing pleasure. This did nothing for their moods. They both felt—and acted—intoxicated. The popcorn expanding within empty stomachs coupled with the massive amounts of sugar fueled the natural high they both got off of having the other around—something neither of them understood or was willing to ponder upon.

Not yet in the mood to leave—and hardly feeling willing to risk their lives in the Chevy—the dynamic duo headed off to get some salt and grease in their systems at the local McDonalds; perhaps that would balance things out.

The trip there inspired a ton of deja-vu in Bella, although the street was deserted, the pain was gone, and she was quite happy. Since, her spine tingled all the way to the restaurant, and she wondered what would happen as the night progressed.

McDonalds was mostly empty, and the employees still trapped there all but ignored the two giggling teenage girls in the back as they ate fries and sipped lemonades. Bella refrained from bringing up more serious topics when Lyn was like this, but after about half-an-hour they had both calmed down enough—more due to the exertion it took to stay so high as opposed to actually regaining some sort of rationality—and she decided it was the perfect time to try again.

"Tell me, what do you think of the other locals?"

Bella's questioned appeared out of thin air, basically, and so Lyn just looked at her blankly for several second before groaning and looking away, the blush returning. Bella chuckled deviously and prodded her new friend with the toe of her boot.

"I won't let it go," she singsonged, her voice growing more demanding, "Tell me!"

Lyn made a face and flicked lemonade at Bella's face. She remained unphased; she didn't even wipe the liquid off. Her brown eyes remained unwavering, frozen on Lyn's face. In the end Lyn looked away and sighed, obviously defeated. Bella smiled in triumph, although her voice was soft, gentle. "It's no big deal. You can tell me."

Truly, Lyn felt that her words were true—very true. Far too true, even. Dangerously so. And that frightened her more than letting Bella in—although that would be almost just as bad. Depending on how _deep_—

"Well...alright. There is this _one_—" Lyn didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't have to. It was obvious where her thoughts were straying. To a girl, at least. Or, perhaps, if one was to be present, a mind-reader.

"When did you meet him?" Bella coaxed, her posture and gaze nonchalant even as her tone was just the opposite. It came off as girlish curiosity, but in truth was something deeper than that. Just as Lyn's reluctance came off as something it was not.

"Well...it was only yesterday, actually. My first day here. I was at the beach, near sunset, having explored the forests all day. Well...I was about to start heading home when...someone showed up."

Gently Bella nudged her onward. "Yeah...go on."

Lyn ducked her head, her smile wide, obviously pleased. "It's silly for me to feel like this, really. We hardly talked about anything! But there was just something _about_ him...it was phenomenal." She sighed.

Bella's intuition flared. "Warm?" she guessed.

Lyn giggled nervously. "Blazing."

Bella frowned. She wasn't quite grasping things as she should, of that she was certain, but it didn't matter. She could figure the details out later, once she was back with Edward. "Why don't you go see him again?"

Lyn rolled her eyes and snorted, and Bella got the feeling that she wasn't really talking to her, but rather herself, only projected to another, something she never got to do. She understood. "My family isn't exactly forgiving."

Bella shrugged it off, as if she was some sort of rebel. "Do they monitor you closely, then?"

Lyn shook her head slowly, sensing how much extra Bella knew.

"Curfew?"

Another negative.

"Then what do they matter?" Bella was surprising her own self with her words and her suggestions. How unlike her!

Lyn didn't have an answer for that. Of course, the first reason to pop into her head was the fact that Jacob was a werewolf, and her vampire "family" would get pissed off at that. But, truthfully, she knew that all her supernatural reasoning were just excuses. She could quite easily go down to First Beach and meet up with him often without Farrah and the others knowing. Plus, there was no way he was all alone, and if anyone was in danger it was her pesky, blood-sucking family.

Lyn sighed. "They don't," she mumbled. For some reason the thought of seeing Jacob again scared her—and not because he was a werewolf.

_Sixth for Edward: She met someone..."warm"...at first Beach...and claims she doesn't want to return for familial reasons—but that's obviously not true._

Bella stood up then, feeling it was time to progress homewards. "C'mon, let's go."

Lyn followed Bella out of the empty McDonald's. The sky was dark, the moon's light visible, vaguely, through the opaque clouds, the stars dull and sparse across the dark gray expanse of nighttime. The road was much more menacing than it had been before, and Bella swallowed heavily as deja-vu struck her again, harder this time. Only now she wasn't remembering her night out with Jessica—she was remembering the Port Angeles incident predating that fateful night.

This illusion wasn't helped along by the fact that every shadow, every breeze seemed to birth a monster. Which was silly. Bella had known and faced down monsters aplenty in her life. The most dangerous of which she had left without a scratch. The more deadly of which she had faced of her own free will. But this, a darkened street on the way back to her truck, she could hardly take. Why repeat these mistakes when you were so afraid of the horrors of humanity? It was truly saying something about the beast within to fear it more than vicious vampires and weak-willed werewolves.

Lyn seemed unphased by the darkness. And why shouldn't she be? She knew nothing of the darkest side of the world, Bella reasoned. But that felt like a contradiction. _Shouldn't you be more afraid if you don't know how bad things can truly get?_

_Seventh for Edward: Lyn was unafraid of the darkness as we returned to my truck...while even I was more than uneasy._

Then Bella saw something out of the corner of her eye. She gasped in surprise and Lyn and her turned to see a tall, dark figure walking towards them. He didn't sway like a drunk, but his eyes were dark and cruel like one. He stopped in front of the two girls, leering down at them. Bella felt suddenly ill. Where was a good vampire when you _really_ needed him? (Or a werewolf, for that matter!)

However, it was truly Lyn's reaction that frightened Bella, in the end. Instead of displaying fear, or even courage, she displayed _confidence_. As if he couldn't touch her, as if he would be foolish to try, _as if he was weak compared to her_. "Yes?" she inquired, her voice laced with scorn and attitude.

This threw the stranger off. Then he examined her attire, and his expression grew confused. "How're you ladies doin' tonight?" he purred, though the sound made a sick mockery of seduction.

Lyn snorted, hardly even trying to be a proper lady. "Get lost."

The man sneered again, and Bella flinched back. He smirked, feeling accomplished. Lyn's look was scornful and disbelieving.

"Is that all? Do I _look_ intimidated to you?" she growled, baring her teeth. He stepped back, thinking she was a crazy woman. "I didn't think so."

Muttering profanities he left, and Lyn grabbed Bella by the elbow to start them back on their way. All the way back to the Chevy Bella stared at Lyn in shock and disbelief. Once they reached her truck Lyn helped Bella into the passenger's side and hopped into the driver's seat herself. No words were spoken until they were safely out of the "safe" "city".

"I think I'll go search him out tomorrow," Lyn whispered in a small voice.

Bella swallowed heavily, trying to keep her cool. Her stomach churned, but she knew she was stronger than that. She was the wolf girl that ran with vampires, afterall. "We should hang out again sometime."

All the way home Lyn fought to calm herself and Bella fought to keep her nausea at bay.

_Eighth for Edward: Lyn was fearless in the face of danger...frighteningly so. What's wrong with her?_


End file.
